Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 64 of 70

Lymber kept the morning simple. She fed the twins, walked Jett to the bus, and told Violetta to put shoes on. She said they were going to the park before Violetta's homework got started. Violetta rolled her eyes but grabbed her jacket. Paul took Max and Missy for the hour. Lymber wanted her oldest alone, on a bench, with no phone in her hand. They walked to the gazebo. Violetta sat on the step and picked at a splinter in the wood. Lymber sat beside her. She said, I want to talk about Jordie. Violetta groaned. Lymber said, not to stop it. Just to tell you something I never told you. She started with the year she was seventeen. She told Violetta about the homecoming crown and the test she held up at the microphone. She told her about the video that ran through town for a week. She said Paul was not in her life until after the line turned pink. She said her mother had to build the story that kept them all standing. Violetta stopped picking at the wood and looked at her. Lymber said, I was your age plus four years, and I thought I knew what I was doing. I didn't. I loved you the second I saw you. That part was real. Everything before that was me running. I ran into a boy because another one hurt me. I ran into a bigger thing because I could not sit still with a smaller one. Three days between Vinnie and Jordie is the same running. I know it because I did it. Violetta's face went tight. She said, so I can't date him. Lymber said, you can. But wait the two weeks like we said, and go slow after. She said, I want you to finish school. I want you to pick a job. I want you to marry someone who shows up on a Tuesday, not just a Saturday. Then have a baby, if you want one. Not the other way around. Being a teen mom was not cute. It was hard every day. Grandma carried a lot of it, and I still feel that. Violetta was quiet for a long time. She said, is that why you and Grandma fought. Lymber said, some of it. She said, I don't want you to owe anybody the way I owed her. Violetta nodded. She said, okay. She said, I'll wait. And I'll tell you before I don't. Lymber took her hand and did not squeeze it too hard. They walked home under a low sky. Violetta went inside first and set the table without being asked. Lymber stood on the porch a minute longer. She had said the thing out loud, to the right person, in time. It was not Polly's script. It was hers. The crown story was a warning now, not a secret. She opened the door and went in to her family.